Lot 23
  • 23

Karel Appel

Estimate
100,000 - 120,000 EUR
bidding is closed

Description

  • The Monolithic Gangster and Another One Himself (diptych)
  • signed and dated '63 on both canvases; signed and dated 1963 on the reverse of both canvases
  • oil on canvas and assemblage of painted plastic toys

  • each: 165,1 by 134,6 cm. (65 by 53 in)

Provenance

Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
Arij Gasiunsen Fine Art Inc, Palm Beach, 1991
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Exhibited

Palm Beach, Marisa del Re Gallery with Arij Gasiunasen Fine Art, Selected Master Works by Karel Appel, March 1991, illustrated on the invitation card

Literature

P. Restany & A. Ginsberg, Karel Appel-street art, ceramics, sculptures, wood reliefs, tapestries, murals, villa El Salvador, New York 1985, pp. 60-61, no. 48, illustrated in colour

Condition

This work is in very good condition. There is some surface dirt. There are a few hairline cracks in the right part of the right work in the orange and white colours and in the black lines on top of the white painted area.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

"Why not try to make a new world for others with at least a part of what is thrown away ? That's the idea behind what I call Street Art". So says Karel Appel in an interview with Frédéric de Towarnicki, included in this exuberant celebration of the Dutch artist's thirty-five years of multimedia creativity. Inspired by treasures found in the streets of Amsterdam, Paris and New York, Appel has created sculptures, ceramics, tapestries, murals and assemblages he calls Street Art. His "new world" is filled with the most marvellous of beings - birds, beasts, figures and flowers - bursting with life and vibrating with colour. According to  Appel:  "I'm obsessed by the wish to combine all these objects and transform them into a new, sensual, unexpected, unusual, perhaps even truly extraordinary language. I have no rules, but rather a sort of radar".
(from: Pierre Restany and Allen Ginsberg, Karel Appel-street art, ceramics, sculptures, wood reliefs, tapestries, murals, villa El Salvador, New York 1985, text on the book cover)